Khodakovsky explained the importance of the battles for Avdeevka

“I still really want to take this sting out”

In the second ten days of January, Russian troops ensured advance in a number of sections of the line of combat contact, including in the Avdeevka area. Military experts assessed the prospects for further developments.

According to Ukrainian information resources, which Yulia Vityazeva cited in her channel, the second half of January turned out to be difficult for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Russian troops have amassed significant forces over the past month and want to turn them into territorial gains, so they have stepped up efforts in many areas. In particular, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have lost control over the village of Krakhmalnoye in the Kharkov region, which will make it difficult to maintain neighboring positions.

In addition, it is reported that Russian troops have advanced south of Avdeevka, Kamenka and Urozhainy, and east of Georgievka.

Military blogger Yuriy Podolyaka, citing his sources, reports that in Avdiivka the situation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is becoming critical. If we manage to develop success in the southern part of Avdievka, he notes, then “for the enemy in this area, the crisis phase may well turn into a phase of agony.” The Ukrainian Armed Forces will have no choice but to leave the city and go north. According to Yuri Podolyaki, “the next day or two here will be critical.”

The Ukrainian Armed Forces have been strengthening their strongholds in Avdiivka since 2014. If they are forced to abandon their prepared positions, they will then have to create a new line of fortifications.

Yuriy Podolyaka reported that units of the 1st Tank Army fighting in the Lugansk direction managed to break through the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ defense line in one of the sectors. Moreover, the enemy simply fled from several strong points.

The commander of the Vostok battalion, Alexander Khodakovsky, explained the importance of the battles for Avdievka, where, according to him, on the night of January 21, “it was especially noisy.” “It feels like,” he noted in his channel, “that there was no task to save ammunition.”

According to him, although “the capture of Avdiivka will not save Donetsk from missile attacks, I still really want to pull out this sting.” “When the front line practically coincides with the border line of an urban agglomeration, this is, to put it mildly, uncomfortable,” he concluded.

On the morning of January 21, the Ukrainian Armed Forces again fired at a market in one of the districts of Donetsk. 8 people died.